PASSIONATE PEOPLE ARE EXTRAORDINARY!
Being a passionate person is not about being an Olympic athlete or a corporate highflier. I believe there are 3 levels in life:
Survival where you just get by but you don’t get ahead. Have you been here? Do you know people like this?
The second is Success where you are making progress but there is the need to tap into your true potential.
The third is Significant where you are recognised by your peers and friends. You know in your heart that you are pursuing your passion and living a life worth living.
I believe the enemy of any personal progress is that life is good, not great. Don’t you deserve to be surrounding yourself with great successes, many achievements tapping into your personal greatness? We keep on doing what we have always done, for no other reason than it works. It’s ok. It’s good! Too many of us suffer from ‘sameness’. We keep on doing what is comfortable, not what is going to give us completeness. One of my strongest beliefs is that it is so easy to be extraordinary. Too many people put up with sameness, they go through the motions and they are satisfied with the crumbs that come with survival mode. Rather than taking time to prepare for the banquets and feasts that can be enjoyed when you put yourself out of your comfort zone and dream big dreams, pursue your passions and set greatness as the standard to live by.
PASSIONATE PEOPLE LOVE WHAT THEY DO!
Is it profitable to pursue your passion and love what you do? Well, I recall reading Robert Kriegel’s book, If It Ain’t Broke, Break It a number of years ago, with a story about a study of 1,500 new workforce entrants starting their career had proved this point dramatically. The researchers followed this group over a 20 year period. At the outset of the study, the group was divided into Group A, 83% of the 1,500 people, who were embarking on a career chosen for the prospects of making money in order to do what they wanted later. A path the majority of people, like you and I have been educated, instructed and informed to take in our own lives.
Group B, the remaining 17% of the sample, had chosen their career path for the exact opposite reason. They were going to pursue what they wanted to do now and worry about the money later. “How irresponsible!” society, our parents and guidance counsellors would tell us! The data showed some startling revelations:
- At the end of the 20 years, 101 of the 1,500 had become millionaires.
- Of the millionaires, all but one—that is 100 out of 101—was from Group B, the group that had chosen to pursue what they loved!
This research compliments that great quote from Mark Twain, the author of the all time classic Huckleberry Finn said, “If you turn your vocation into your vacation, you will never work another day in your life.”
Let me ask you, are you doing what you love to do? Whether that is in your personal life or your professional life? I am not asking you to leave your job; close your business down; leave your partner or spouse. I am not saying that your life is going to be honky dory every single day, but if it is not that way the majority of the time, then what are you doing to fix it? Whether you need to address the roadblocks that are holding you back, taking control of the issues or challenging your current circumstances. It has often been said, that ulcers are caused not from what you have eaten, but what’s eating you. If you don’t take time to pursue your passion, it eats away at you.
ARE YOU DOING WHAT YOU LOVE TO DO? YOUR ACTIVITY:
Please take a moment to thank about and respond to the following questions. Follow your heart; write down your initial thoughts without prejudgement or in a dismissive way.
- What would you love to do if you knew you could not fail? You may have more than one answer.
- What is one roadblock holding you back from achieving what you would love to do?
- How would you get around this roadblock, if you had the time and the resources?
- What is one thing you need to do differently in your life?
- What is one small action step you could take in the next 24 hours that will make a difference in your life?
- What do you love to do, that gives you back energy and recharges your batteries?
WHEN DID WE LOSE THE ABILITY TO BE PASSIONATE?
When my daughter was five she told me that when she grew up she was going to be a hair dresser, work in a clothes shop, be an actress and become a princess. This comment made me question at what moment of time do we lose the ability to use our imagination? To dream passionate dreams? As children we dreamt wonderful dreams, but as time goes by we lose our ability to dream, to even become excited, enthused and energised about our achievements. It all seems too difficult to do. The lives we live can be draining; they can be series of personal bushfires we have to put out every day. But the question is when are you going to stop and start doing things different? If you want things to be different then you must do things differently in your life.
We can look outside ourselves but everything that affects you is about you. So if you want to change your circumstances then start to work on yourself. It is about moving from feeling helpless to becoming hopeful. If it is too painful to address, then remember this simple philosophies to becoming an extraordinary person.
LIFE IS SHORT AND YOU’RE A LONG TIME DEAD.
For more viewer Q+A videos with Keith Abraham, visit Keith’s YouTube Channel.
